shortCummins Posted July 19, 2019 Share Posted July 19, 2019 While I was doing some research for my recent P-38 build I came across this image… P Dirty Eight - Christian Pearce It was created by a chap called Christian Pearce and I really liked the “make-do and mend” imagery of a “Mad Max” type of aircraft cobbled together from odds ’n' sods, Mr Pearce is a very talented man. Anywho, when I looked for more of his work I found this gem… The Rat Bird - Christian Pearce …and I thought it might be interesting to have a go at a “kit-bash” to try and make something similar to this?, or at least to try and capture the ‘essence’ of his idea. The “gull-wings” have to be from a F4U and the fuselage and engine could only be a P-47 so I bought a couple of Tamiya kits to butcher/use as donor kits. This build is going to be way beyond anything I’ve ever tried before and I’ll probably muck it up somewhere along the way but I’m hoping it’ll be a fun, rather than frustrating, little project that will teach me a number of new skills or most likely that I should not to bite off more than I can chew? Wish me luck. until next time as always, any suggestions, criticisms or comments will be gratefully received. rgds John(shortCummins) 17 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob85 Posted July 19, 2019 Share Posted July 19, 2019 This COULD be amazing! I hope it is! I will tag along, if I may? Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Crusty one Posted July 19, 2019 Share Posted July 19, 2019 Oooooh now this looks like it could be a lot of fun ....count me in👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in Lincs Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 I found these pictures a while ago but had forgotten them. There are others out there too. Yes, this does sound like fun and the purists will hate it. Of course, you'll end up with parts for a straight wing Corsair. Got any old floats to go with it? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles87 Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 I’m in too, I don’t like to take things too seriously. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortCummins Posted July 20, 2019 Author Share Posted July 20, 2019 So the first thing to do was to see how much work there’s going to be adding the Corsair’s wings to the Thunderbolt’s fuselage. The fuselage was taped together… …and the lower wing section taped to the fuselage You’ll see from this photo that quite a lot of the P-47’s wing root will need to be removed to allow for the ‘gull-wing’ So from this initial ‘fitting’ it looks as if it should be a reasonable task, a bit of cutting and sanding and I’m sure lots of filling but, famous last words(?) it looks doable. My plan is to build the fuselage, cockpit etc. and then hack it about to fit the wings. The engine/nose, rear & horizontal stabilisers, outer wing(s) will be added after the inner wings have been fitted as this should give me more wiggle room? Just to add extra ‘interest’ I’m going to make her ‘in-flight’, as the original drawing, so I’ll be adding a square brass rod as a ‘stand*’. *if you want to read a decent “how to” follow this link for Gary Wickham’s feature… https://www.scalespot.com/reference/stands/stand.htm As per 99% of all aircraft builds I’ll be starting with the cockpit. until next time as always, any suggestions, criticisms or comments will be gratefully received. rgds John(shortCummins) 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in Lincs Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 I see on the original drawing that the cockpit is open and has been moved way back. Also, with that bomb load there's nowhere to put the landing gear anyway! If you do decide you want floats, I think I have some from a Smer Swordfish in about 1/48th. And, maybe a torpedo? I'm thinking Pacific, anti shipping & island based. I like your progress so far and I'll pop by from time to time to see what's going on. Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigdave22014 Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 I've seen plenty of this sort of thing over in the sci-fi section (take a bow @Pete in Lincs) so to see this done to an aircraft in here is outstanding! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Crusty one Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 In fact it's inspired me ...I'm going to give that p-38 a go👍 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Crusty one Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 Need some help identifing the kits I need Basic kit 1/48 P-38 Left wing 1/48 BF 109 or 110? Right boom no idea? Any help greatly appreciated 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in Lincs Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 I think the left wing is bf110. The right boom? The forward part may also be bf110, it's fairly square in section, tapering down to a P-38 fin. The forward part of the left boom is Mustang? Low wing monoplane anyway. The rear part looks squared off rather than oval, maybe bf110 again? Is the right wing from a P-47? The tail fins are from two different aircraft. No idea what the tailplane came from. The cockpit pod isn't totally original either. It looks more like a Vampire pod with a turret for the pilot. I think you'll need to search for 'parts missing' kits on the bay or it could get expensive! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fubar57 Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 (edited) This will be a very interesting build. My 2¢, the tail section of the Rat Bird looks like its from a Bf 109E Edited July 20, 2019 by fubar57 clarification Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortCummins Posted July 21, 2019 Author Share Posted July 21, 2019 (edited) 23 hours ago, Pete in Lincs said: I see on the original drawing that the cockpit is open and has been moved way back. Also, with that bomb load there's nowhere to put the landing gear anyway! If you do decide you want floats, I think I have some from a Smer Swordfish in about 1/48th. And, maybe a torpedo? I'm thinking Pacific, anti shipping & island based. I like your progress so far and I'll pop by from time to time to see what's going on. Pete Hi Pete thanks for the offer of the floats but I'm going to ignore the landing gear issues as I plan on doing a wheels up version, nice idea though. I've been pondering about how to fit lots of bombs and I've decided I'll cross that bridge when I come to it, lets see how the surgery goes, if it doesn't work out I won't be fitting the bombs to anything. as an aside I was wondering what to do with the Corsair body when I came across this... ...so depending on how this build pans out I could be setting myself up for more scratch building Edited July 21, 2019 by shortCummins spoiling mistook 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortCummins Posted July 21, 2019 Author Share Posted July 21, 2019 10 hours ago, fubar57 said: This will be a very interesting build. My 2¢, the tail section of the Rat Bird looks like its from a Bf 109E Rather than further complicate this build, i.e. fitting a tail section from a 109, I'm going to 'square off' the rudder and horizontal stabilisers rgds John(shortCummins) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortCummins Posted July 21, 2019 Author Share Posted July 21, 2019 As this is a ‘fantasy’ build I get to decide on what colour the cockpit interior is going to be. A couple of points for me to consider will be that not much will be visible as I’m going to add a pilot and I’m not sure how much would be visible once the fuselage halves are joined. I’m going to see what it looks like in Tamiya XF-4 yellow green, if it looks wrong I’ll probably give it a coat of grey/green. To start all the components have been removed from their sprue(s) and given a coat of UMP/Stynylrez black primer. Once the primer had dried I gave the relevant parts a coat of XF-4 yellow green I’m not sure that the wing section will be seen, but just in case I’ve given it a coat of paint The instrument panel has been masked Pedals The rear of the cockpit and headrest was painted both front and back The control column will need detail painting Seat support The seat Detail painting will be next and then I’ll make a final decision on keeping the XF-4 as the main cockpit colour. until next time as always, any suggestions, criticisms or comments will be gratefully received. rgds John(shortCummins) 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in Lincs Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 John, It's coming along very nicely so far and I like the bonkers Corsair 'car' too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beazer Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 This is a wicked idea and I hope it pans out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christer A Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 This can only end with one result. Absolutely stunning and bonkers att the same time. I Love it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Crusty one Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 14 hours ago, Pete in Lincs said: I think the left wing is bf110. The right boom? The forward part may also be bf110, it's fairly square in section, tapering down to a P-38 fin. The forward part of the left boom is Mustang? Low wing monoplane anyway. The rear part looks squared off rather than oval, maybe bf110 again? Is the right wing from a P-47? The tail fins are from two different aircraft. No idea what the tailplane came from. The cockpit pod isn't totally original either. It looks more like a Vampire pod with a turret for the pilot. I think you'll need to search for 'parts missing' kits on the bay or it could get expensive! I think the left tailplane is from a zero and the right from a warhawk or even a p-38 So Kits to be ordered: 1/48 lightning 1/48 BF 110 1/48 Mustang 1/48 P-47 And lots of use from the spares box😳 Apologies to John(shortcummins) for hijacking his build thread just a little until I get my own sorted out 👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortCummins Posted July 21, 2019 Author Share Posted July 21, 2019 4 hours ago, The Crusty one said: I think the left tailplane is from a zero and the right from a warhawk or even a p-38 So Kits to be ordered: 1/48 lightning 1/48 BF 110 1/48 Mustang 1/48 P-47 And lots of use from the spares box😳 Apologies to John(shortcummins) for hijacking his build thread just a little until I get my own sorted out 👍 no problem, I'll be watching with interest as I think I've chosen the easier one to do 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Crusty one Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 2 hours ago, shortCummins said: no problem, I'll be watching with interest as I think I've chosen the easier one to do Cheers mate...just ordered a Me 110,zero Mustang and thunderbolt all cheapies👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billn53 Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 Don’t forget to add the tennis shoes over the antenna wire 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortCummins Posted July 22, 2019 Author Share Posted July 22, 2019 Now that the ‘base colour’ has been put down it’s time for some detail paint. Various panels were picked out with Alkan New Rubber Black-Grey or vallejo 71.065 steel and then dry-brushed. Lever handles and switches were picked out with red One of the pipes on the floor was painted Mr Metal Colour 215 copper, the other with 71.065 steel. Rear bulkhead, seat and support were highlighted/dry-brushed with 71.065 steel Next I’ll be weathering and assembling the cockpit. until next time as always, any suggestions, criticisms or comments will be gratefully received. rgds John(shortCummins) 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fubar57 Posted July 22, 2019 Share Posted July 22, 2019 Nice looking innards, John George Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thom216 Posted July 22, 2019 Share Posted July 22, 2019 Nice paint job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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